Second Post: Taking stock

You need to recognize 2 things:

1) This asset you have is very powerful.
- You already know this.
- You’ve seen it drive traffic.
- You’ve run a client's ad for a month and the copy was attention grabbing and it increased sales: They re-signed for 13 weeks.
- You’ve been at a local business packed with people, the local owner and you are standing there while a jock is announcing someone’s name, giving something away, and you have that tangible PROUD  feeling of success.

Terrestrial Radio drives foot traffic.
Terrestrial Radio still drives music consumption.
Terrestrial Radio is a very profitable business. Not bankrupt like Sirius XM. Not losing money like on-line broadcasters. (Competing media would KILL to have your advertising revenue and profits, and they're going after your clients.)

…But this is today!

  

2) This asset’s value won’t last forever. Not in its current state. Won’t happen!
- Listeners are harder to reach and need more personal interaction.
- Advertisers want accuracy and accountability in their advertising, and the PPM is still the exception, not the rule.

So what’s your company’s plan to come out on the other side of this digital revolution with your asset intact? Not the short term, the long term. 2014. What about 2019? What will the value of your company be then? What actions will you have taken to remain competitive?

Time to strategize on HOW TO HOLD ON TO THOSE ASSETS. Time to build the plan.

RBC's plan is solid. I'm proud of the steps we've taken. I'll share these plans as we go, but before I lay it out there, you've got to accept the reality above. Sharing this info before that would be pointless. 

Tony

First Blog

In this blog, I’ll document Terrestrial Radio’s transformation from Radio Frequency Towers to Multi-Media Brands. From the inside and from up high.

- Some are in denial. “Terrestrial Radio is strong! Terrestrial Radio will rebound!”
- Most are claiming witness to its demise. They hammer Terrestrial Radio, often justifiably, sometimes with malice.

I’m here to deliver some reality. 

Who am I? Why do you care what I have to say?? My name is Tony Renda, and I have more ‘skin’ in this game than you…and just about everyone else out there authoring or reading these 'industry' Blogs, Articles, and Twitters. I’m a guy who’s family business owns 25 radio stations. I've run 3 of our markets, 9 of our radio stations, including RBC's largest market and RBC's most proftable market. I've got revenue and profit goals that would make you wet yourself.

What do I think?
1) First and foremost, embracing the truth and defining obstacles is the only way to survive in the long run.

2)  I fear the worst. The absolute worst. And I have for a long time. I fear that 3G & WiMax will kill the Terrestrial Radio Industry in a matter of years; I think Terrestrial Radio’s best days are behind it, and to argue anything different means you’re not paying attention. Will radio be a viable advertising medium in the short/medium run? Yes! But the clock is ticking, isn’t it?

3) I think that being content with a web page that compliments your Radio signal is scary.

You're not used to hearing these things from someone in my position, but it’s about time you did. Lots of opinions out there, none of them coming from this perspective. None of them from this high up inside a Radio corporation. Some I’ve come to respect: their links are to the right.

Over the next two years, as ‘Towers to Brands’ becomes THE source for Terrestrial Radio Stations making the transition, I will provide you with information, data, experiences, challenges, tough decisions, and answers to questions that you and your Terrestrial Radio Corporation are already facing.

Subscribe. You’ll enjoy the ride. 

Tony